Developing trusting relationships and reducing teacher burnout are two pressing issues that principals and superintendents confront on a daily basis in public schools. With the increasing demands of state mandated testing, No Child Left Behind, and improving standards for all students, principals and superintendents need to understand the relationship between the factors that influence student performance and a positive learning environment. The purpose of this study was to analyze teacher trust in the principal and teacher burnout as identified by teachers in selected Texas public schools. In this study, a cross-tabulation of teacher burnout by teacher trust in the principal indicated a moderate to strong association between the two variables. The Pearson product-moment correlation produced a strong, positive correlation of 0.61 (p<0.01) between teacher trust in the principal and teacher burnout. In addition, teachers who indicated low trust in the principal are about 28 percent more likely to experience high teacher burnout. In fact, out of the 315 teachers who completed this survey, not one teacher who reported high teacher trust in the principal scored high on teacher burnout. Next, the researcher explored how selected demographic variables influenced the teacher trust-burnout relationship. According to this study, the number of years that the teacher has worked with the principal has a strong influence on the teacher trust-burnout relationship, and the teacher’s age and the teacher’s experience have a moderate effect. In addition, teacher gender appears to have a slight effect on the teacher trust-burnout relationship, and principal gender, principal age, and principal race appear to not affect the teacher trust-burnout relationship at all. The researcher was unable to draw any conclusions on the influence of teacher race on the teacher trust-burnout relationship due to the small number of African American, Hispanic, Asian, and other race teacher respondents. Finally, the multivariate regression analysis suggested that teacher trust in the principal and the demographic variables in this study account for nearly 40 percent of the variance for teacher burnout. The results of this study suggest that principals must focus on developing trusting relationships with their teachers to reduce teacher burnout.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude of the teacher shortage in the Mississippi Delta region, and to investigate the factors which seem to influence the attrition and retention of teachers. This study employed a nonexperimental quantitative investigation designed to analyze survey data. The sample for this study included selected K-12 teachers employed in school districts in the Mississippi Delta region, and two non-Delta school districts. 436 teachers participated in the study. The study was designed to answer questions on the commitment level of currently employed teachers in the Mississippi Delta region. Data were collected using a 4 - point Likert response scale. All data were entered and analyzed using a SAS Multiple Regression (stepwise) program. In addition, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the means in each section and to report observed variance in the different parts. A t-test was performed to analyze the differences in the responses of the Delta and non-Delta schools in terms of commitment levels. With the level of significance for inclusion established at p<0.05, the researcher was able to determine that age, years of teaching experience, and salary were insignificant. Results also revealed number of years teaching in the district and race were found to be statistically significant. The researcher did not find any differences in commitment levels or any other variables in the responses of the Delta and non-Delta teacher participants.

The purpose of this study was to identify beginning teachers' perceptions of how colleges and universities can improve their teacher preparation programs and what school systems can do to ensure that first-year teachers have a successful and satisfying experience in the classroom. A total of 20 first and second-year elementary teachers participated in 20 separate, qualitative interviews. The information collected from the interviews was inductively analyzed. Several themes reflecting the perceptions of study participants emerged during the data analysis process: (1) a belief that college classes did not reflect or prepare new teachers for the "real world" of teaching. (2) feeling overwhelmed by teaching duties and expectations; (3) positive benefits of mentoring; (4) a desire for more interactive field experience; and (4) the need for classroom management skills. From the findings, the investigator presented the following suggestions for improving the teacher education program at colleges: (1) provide additional opportunities for more interactive field experience, not just observing; (2) eliminate many of the philosophy classes and research requirements; (3) include more instruction in dealing with classroom management, including discipline strategies and effective means of interacting with parents; (4) intensify reading instruction; and (5) provide more course work in special education issues. The following suggestions were presented for improving the induction program at the school level: (1) formally assign a mentor; (2) schedule a time for the principal to meet with new teachers individually to fully explain school procedures and expectations; (3) hire beginning teachers earlier in the summer to provide them with more preparation time; (4) furnish teachers with adequate funds to purchase school materials; and (5) provide release time to observe veteran teachers. This study provides valuable information for university departments of education to improve their teacher preparation program to reflect the needs of today's new teachers. These findings will assist school systems in developing more appropriate induction programs for new teachers.

Teacher quality has been identified as the most crucial factor in raising student achievement. In order for teachers—and consequently their students—to be successful, teachers must participate in life-long career development. For this reason, a great deal of time and resources are spent on professional development. However, professional development for teachers is not always effective. This study was aimed at identifying those elements that led to success in professional development conducted in one rural Utah school district. The study operated within the theoretical framework of Appreciative Inquiry, which consists of collecting evidence by interviewing successful participants to gather stories that reveal what works best in an organization. For this study, four elementary teachers in the district were identified as having made positive changes in their classrooms as a result of participation in the professional development. These teachers were interviewed and their stories were recorded. Then, their stories were analyzed and the following common themes emerged: validation, modeling with children, "doable" practices, reanimation of previously learned content and desire to learn more. These themes were then categorized into two sections that represent instructional strategies used by the presenter and teacher behaviors that were influenced by the identified instructional strategies. While research has identified many elements of quality professional development programs, these additional elements that emerged deserve further investigation. Results may provide useful information when designing professional development that will encourage teachers to take up promoted practices.

abstract: New teachers quit the profession at high levels, particularly in rural and urban schools. These high rates of turnover create staffing issues, particularly in high-needs areas like math and special education. High levels of stress and dissatisfaction with the profession have been cited as common reasons teachers exit the profession within the first few years. However, positive interventions from the field of positive psychology as well as mindfulness have been used in the workplace and have been found to support increasing wellbeing as well as reducing stress. This study defines workplace wellbeing as a construct of positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning/purpose, achievement and health within the workplace. In this mixed methods quasi-experimental study, 26 new teachers within a large suburban schools were sorted into experimental (n=13) and a control (n=13) groups. The experimental group was provided with a mindfulness training (in-person or virtually) as well as was asked to journal twice a week about three things that went well during the week, why those things went well, and what impact that had on students. The experimental group was invited to share their journals with their Teacher Induction and Support Program (TISP) coach in-person during their weekly confidential meetings. The control group was asked to write down any three things that occurred over the week (positive, negative, or neutral) and was also invited to share this with their TISP coach. Participants completed journals for the months of November, December, and January. All participants took a workplace wellbeing survey (developed by Peggy Kern and used with permission of Dr. Kern) at October, December, March and June. Additionally, five participants from the control group and five participants from the control group were interviewed about their experiences as new teachers and their experiences using the interventions. Participants in the control group experienced decreases in their workplace wellbeing throughout the year whereas participants in the control group experiences steady or increases to their workplace wellbeing, particularly in the areas of positive emotions, relationships, meaning, and self-efficacy. Participants in the experimental group also reported mindfulness practices increased their confidence and promoted positive emotional regulation that supported a positive classroom, despite challenging student behaviors. While this study uses a small sample size, these findings were confirmed in qualitative data, quantitative data, and are consistent with findings in related literature. While the findings are consistent with findings in related studies utilizing positive interventions and mindfulness within the workplace, these findings run counter to studies on the emotional experiences of teachers which assert that teacher’s (particularly new teachers) experience high levels of negative emotions and stress, particularly during the middle of the year. The findings from this dissertation suggest positive interventions and mindfulness may bolster new teacher’s workplace wellbeing and self-efficacy during the first year. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2018

How do teachers talk about the productiveness of teacher's in-the-moment responses to student mathematical thinking? This is a question current research does not fully answer as most research on teacher moves is focused on what teacher moves researchers have noticed teachers do rather than on what teachers think about these teacher moves. To fill the gap in the research and to answer the question, a group of 13 teachers were given ten classroom situations to compare and contrast for productivity. I analyzed (a) the content of the teachers' discussions by drawing on Teacher Response Coding (TRC) language, and (b) the extent to which the teachers' discussions align with theorized productive responses to student mathematical thinking, or building. From the teachers' group conversations, I articulated principles of productivity— articulations of the main ideas and conclusions of the teachers' conversations with regards to productivity. Focusing on the principles of productivity, I highlighted what teacher moves the teachers said were productive or not productive with respect to teacher's in-the-moment responses to student mathematical thinking. In analyzing the list of unique principles of productivity, I noticed three main themes that the principles were focused around: student mathematics, teacher moves, and mathematics, which reflected some of the ideas in research for productive teacher moves. Additionally, I analyzed the principles for alignment with the practice of building, which led to the conclusion that the ideas of orchestrating discussion and making explicit are the most salient of the sub-practices of building to the teachers. These results based on teachers' discussions around the productivity of teacher moves can help inform teacher education and professional development.

On average, teachers in the United States are absent for 9.6 days of student instruction per school year, while in this study's rural Northeast Ohio school district, teachers averaged 16.2 absences in the 2015-16 school year. Teacher absence is a concern because the classroom teacher is often considered the most crucial school-related influence on student achievement. Guided by Bowlby's attachment theory, the purpose of this study was to examine the possible predictive relationships between teacher absences for sick/personal and professional leave as well as other teacher-related variables, including teaching experience, teacher education level, and teacher evaluation results, with the outcome variables of student achievement in 4th through 8th grade English language arts and math. In this quantitative correlational study, data from 36 4th through 8th grade English language arts and math teachers were examined using simple and multiple linear regression models. Results indicated that none of the 5 teacher-related variables were significantly predictive of student achievement. Despite these non-significant results, the district's Board of Education expressed concerns about the public's perception of the district's teacher attendance rate. To address the Board's concern, a 3-day professional development program was created for the Board, administrators, and teachers to collaborate and recommend strategies to increase teacher attendance. The knowledge gained from implementing this project will promote positive social change by offering this and other school districts a variety of options to support the consistent attendance of teachers, which may, in turn, enhance student-teacher relationships, student-teacher engagement, and potentially student achievement over time.

The roles and responsibilities of teacher leaders change as schools, districts, and states adopt new policies, procedures, and initiatives. However, little qualitative research has been conducted about how teachers develop leadership skills, particularly during preservice preparation programs. The purpose of this single case study was to explore how a community of practice prepared college graduates to be teacher leaders. The conceptual framework was based on the concepts of situated learning, communities of practice and legitimate peripheral participation. Four graduates from a state teaching program were purposefully selected as participants. Data were collected from multiple sources, including initial and follow-up interviews with program graduates, observations of their leadership activities in public schools, archival data, and program documents. Analysis consisted of multilevel coding, category construction, and determination of emergent themes and discrepant data to inform key findings. Findings suggested that the Southern State Teaching Program prepared its graduates to serve as teacher leaders through situated learning opportunities and the development, practice, and refinement of skills necessary for leading others. The program also offered peripheral participation in the program and the teaching profession. Implications for positive social change include the potential for including teacher leader development programs at the preservice level, which may ultimately improve teacher retention and student achievement.

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There are three purposes of this study: (1) to determine the degree of interaction between pupils and student teachers and teaching effectiveness as rated by pupils; (2) to determine the significance of difference of pupil ratings between those who express "more" and those who express "less interest" in the course taught by the student teacher whom they were asked to rate; and (3) to study other variables such as sex, age, and achievement in order to show how they relate to pupil and student teacher interaction.